I’ve been thinking about keeping warm and making a hot water bottle cover. When I found some black wool bouclé in my stash I thought I had hit the jackpot. It looked good too. I carefully modelled it on my daughter’s hot water bottle (hottie) just to be sure.


However, did you know that hotties come in slightly different sizes? I didn’t until I tried to post the cover and a new hottie off to my sister. Next time, I’ll make the cover out of something with a little stretch. For now, my sister will just have to be on the look out for a hottie that fits.

It’s been a big week in our house. My dearest bundled our little ones into the car each morning, Miss H started daycare, Little E saw a bit more daycare and I returned to work.


There were lists of things to do before the return to work. Some of them were more fanciful than others. I must have completed the important tasks, because we are still here and in one piece. Though, I might need your help on just one small thing...I don’t know what to put in my bag. There is space for something crafty in my vintage bowling bag and I’m looking for inspiration.


Here’s the give-away. At the end of a week, I’ll be giving away this thrifted Work Bag (craft work, that is) and hunt out some wonders to fill it with. Please tell me what to put in the going to work bag. It needs to be relatively small, hand work, and suitable for a train trip. I know there are power points at each seat but I don’t think my fellow passengers or my fingertips, would appreciate me wielding a hot glue gun. This week I was content with my book, but next week I’m aiming higher. Give it some thought and let me know.

Check out these button beauties. I received them from Lorna as part of the button swap. One day they might find their way on to a kid’s jacket or some hair ties but for now I’m happy to just admire them on the card.

I had the pleasure of meeting Abi from Home Heart Happiness today. It was such a surprise. There was an email late last night saying she was likely to be in town, and before I knew it we were sharing coffee and babbling away. It was great fun and so nice when you get on just as well in real life as you do online.


We are together in both the ANZAC and Australasian Bees. So of course I had to get my latest blocks off in the post too.

In the interests of starting small, I singed up for a button swap over at Feeling Stitchy. These little daisies found themselves on their way to Lorna at CraftyMess. They are more of a play with colour than a technical masterpiece. Can you tell what my favourite colours are at the moment?

It started with a small flirtation. The Jenny Hart book winked at me in the library. Embroidered Effects came home with me and there was no turning back.

The pages lured me with their candy colours and simple instructions. Before I knew it, I was working on a sampler. The Librarians felt my pain when someone else reserved it and I couldn’t renew it “just one more time”.

The sampler is almost finished and I’m eyeing up some new projects. I even managed to get the book back just for those last stitches.

My mum was quietly impressed. She’s and embroidery fan from way back. If I keep it up she might even let me near her Danish sewing books. For now, she’s passed me this.

It’s like a box of chocolates, only better.

It has taken me a long time to admit, but summer really is over. The clocks went back today, the firewood is stacked and I might even have my first cold of the season. Before I snuggle down for hibernation, I’m taking a look back at the best parts of the summer just gone.

There was a touch of knitting.

There was foraging for blackberries. Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked free fruit by the riverside. Little E agrees with me on this.

There were strawberries to be found. I can't believe that we are still picking them in April.

There was jam to be made. I started with the plums on our boundary fence and just didn't stop - yellow plum, red plum, plum and currant, plum and peach, currant and peach...

It took a while, but it finally got hot. the paddling pool was scrubbed down and we got our feet wet.

It was busy, and so much of it went by in a blur. It's time to rest, even if only for a little bit. I'm off to put on the kettle, make myself a lemon honey drink and kick this hint of a cold.